1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains, in general, to vehicular and automotive hardware, and in particular, to an apparatus for adjusting the tilt and longitudinal positions of a vehicle's seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Almost universally, automobiles and other vehicles are equipped with a seat, at least in the front, whose position is adjustable for driver comfort and to permit operating controls to be reached safely with the hands and feet.
Recent-vintage automobiles are frequently equippped with seat positioners permitting adjustment in a number of degrees of freedom, e.g., fore-and-aft, up-and-down, tilting, and may also include means for permitting inclining and reclining of the backrest relative to the bottom part of the seat. Fore-and-aft, or longitudinal, positioning is typically accomplished in automobiles by means of a pair of longitudinally-extending, laterally-parallel tracks attached to the vehicle upon which a pair of carriers slides, at least one of which is lockable to one of the tracks to permit the seat to be adjusted through a plurality of longitudinal positions. The tilt position of the seat, if adjustable, may typically be adjusted by means of a number of mechanisms, among which include a pair of adjustable hinges, each of which attaches to one of the aforementioned carriers.
One of the problems with the two-track positioner is that it does not accommodate the short-than-average driver or taller-than-average driver well in terms of leg-length adjustment and sitting height adjustment within the vehicle, i.e., as the seat moves forward or backward to accommodate these drivers, the seat should automatically compensate in terms of tilt position and height to adjust for these drivers. Another problem with these prior art devices is that, if they do provide for independent tilt-position adjustment, use of this adjustment feature may result in an undesirable simultaneous longitudinal movement of the seat.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for adjusting the longitudinal and tilt position of a vehicular seat in which the tilt-position and height of the seat is automatically adjusted during longitudinal movement of the seat to accommodate taller-than-average and shorter-than-average drivers, which also permits an independent tilt-position adjustment which does not result in simultaneous longitudinal movement of the seat. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which is combined in a simple mechanism which is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble in production quantities, yet which achieves a simple, safe and reliable operation during use.